My Stalker
by Vixen279
Summary: Steph kind of has a stalker. Babe HEA.


**I do not own JE's characters. I just like to play with them. Thank you for reading.**

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I decided three months ago that my life was going to be different. I made some changes, but the most important thing to me had not happened yet. I wanted a relationship with Ranger, but I could not pin him down. He had stopped our meetings in the alley and when I did a distraction, he let me place my own wires.

I would think that he was not interested in me anymore, except for the fact that every time my phone rings, it is him. He asks me about my day or about my job. He asks me about movies that I watch and about the weather, but he does not ask me on a date.

He does not ask me to come and see him or if he can come over instead of sitting in my parking lot for hours. I always feel like he is following me, too, but he had a job, so he could not possibly have the time to do that, right?

I know that Ranger keeps tabs on me and that he sometimes breaks into my home. Some mornings I find Boston crème donuts on my dining room table. Other times, like when it rained and I got drenched, I came home and I found that I had somehow gained a new umbrella and a hooded trench coat. That must mean something, right?

Today was fun so far. I had just finished having Chinese food with Mario Hubbard. He was a 27 year old black guy that looked like Michael Ealy. He was 6'2" tall and he had a slightly muscular build. He was adorable. He treated me to lunch when I told him that I had missed breakfast at McDonald's. I thought that was so nice of him.

Our service at the restaurant was excellent and I was pleasantly full. It was a crisp fall day and Mario suggested that we go for a walk in the 'uppity park in the hills'. I laughed and drove us there. He was smart and funny. He loved Dave Chappelle and Eddie Murphy just like me. He thought I was the bomb and he told me to use my gun more often. Just what I needed, another nag in my life. My phone rang while we were watching the kids play on the swings, so I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Babe." Nope. I do not know what he means today.

"Yes?"

"Are you on a date, Babe?"

I looked around the park and I spot a black Explorer parked at the far end of the parking lot. He had been following me around for weeks. He really needs to stop this already. Does he think that I cannot take care of myself?

"Why do you want to know, Ranger?" He sighs.

"Be careful, Babe." He hangs up. Coward.

Yes I am calling him a coward. I broke up with Morelli three months ago. Well, actually, he broke up with me three months ago so that he could go undercover with a clear conscience. Whatever. I was born at night, not last night. I told him that it was over for good.

I moved to a condo in Hamilton Township and I am currently working part time for Vinnie and getting my PI license. Ranger calls me from time to time, but not to spend time with him. He offered me a job, but I declined it. I have done a few distractions, and I saved my money. I use a P.O. Box for my address and I am more careful these days.

I wonder what Ranger's deal is. Why was he stalking me and calling me so much? Why wouldn't he approach me now that Joe was out of the picture?

"Come on, Cutie. I dare you to get on the swings with me."

I look at Mario. He is making me smile a lot today. I get on the swings and we see who can go higher. I win and we both jump off into the cedar wood chips.

The phone rings again. "Hello?"

"Did he tell you that you look pretty today, Babe?"

I look at Mario and he is staring at me. He winks at me and I smile.

"Yes." He had called me Cutie since earlier.

"Babe, you look like you are having a good time."

Why is he doing this to me?

"I am, Ranger." He sighs again.

"Okay, Babe. Be safe." He hangs up again.

After we climb the monkey bars, I am all played out.

"So, are you ready now, Mario?" He grins at me and looks at his watch.

"Sure. We should be right on schedule, Cutie." We go back to my car.

"Let me drive, Cutie."

"Nope. You are not on my insurance, Mario." He sulks.

"I feel weird being driven around by a woman, Cutie."

"Get over it, man."

I get inside and buckle my seatbelt and I stare at him until he does the same. We ride in mostly silence except for Beyoncé on the radio. I love her. My phone rings again.

"Hello?"

"Babe, really. Is this a date?"

"Tell me why you want to know, Ranger."

He sighs. "I didn't know you were ready to date yet, Babe. I will talk to you later."

He hangs up. He is killing me. I drive through Trenton to reach our destination. We have an appointment. We arrive at the station and I park and Mario walks into the building with me.

"Shouldn't I be in handcuffs, Cutie?"

I shake my head as we wait near the intake desk.

"Nope. I trust you to hold up your end of the bargain."

We sit and wait. He looks at his watch again.

"I am going to fire Thatcher."

"No you won't. You said that he is not from around here. Give him time to show up, Mario."

Suddenly I hear a voice that I do not want to hear again.

"Hello, Cupcake. Who's your friend?"

I wink at Mario and he grins wider and puts his arm around the back of my chair. I had told him about Morelli when he asked why I was single.

"Hello, Morelli. This is Mario."

He gives Mario the once over and glares at me. He does not look as attractive as he used to anymore. He should not make that face.

"I see it didn't take you long to replace me, Cupcake."

"What I do is none of your business, Morelli."

He looks at Mario.

"Watch your back. When you are not looking, she will be all over this Cuban thug. She can't stay away from him. Do not be surprised when you catch her cheating on you with him. That's what she did to me."

Mario just stared at Morelli while moving my hand away from my gun.

"Homie, I ain't got to worry about my woman steppin' out on me. Maybe you wasn't taking care of her right. You know what I'm sayin'?"

Morelli slowly starts to turn colors, but I am already mad.

"I never cheated on you, Morelli! You are the one who broke up with me just so you could get your freak on. I heard you talking to Big Dog. You are a creep and I am glad that it is over between us."

"You know that if I wanted you back, you would be right back with me, Cupcake. It's too bad for you that I do not want you anymore."

"I do not want you, either, Morelli. Mario is right. Sometimes, you just did not ring my bell if you know what I mean. A girl gets tired of faking it."

Morelli really turns almost purple after that statement. Whatever. It felt good to finally tell him that little tidbit. Mario is still holding my hand to keep it away from my gun.

"Listen, Cutie. My homie Thatcher just came in. Let's handle our business. If you are a good girl, I will buy you some ice cream."

I giggle at him and this sets Morelli off.

"You are such a whore! How long have you been screwing this guy? Should I get checked at the clinic?"

Mario stood up and punched Morelli in the gut and again in the face. Morelli falls down on the floor. Everyone who has been pretending not to pay attention to this drama stops and watches the drama.

"I cannot believe Cutie was ever with a dude like you. That was foul what you said about her, too. She is good peoples and you better apologize to her right now. I do not mind going to jail for a good cause. Look at my face and see if I mean it."

Wow. Check Mario out. Morelli does not look good. He stands up and narrows his eyes at me.

"I apologize for stating the truth, Cupcake."

"Not good enough, homie." Mario punches Morelli again and he goes back down.

"Shortie ain't no whore, man and that is not how you talk to a lady."

He sits back down and takes my hand again. "Yo, do not let me catch you with that cat no more, Cutie."

I nod and my phone rings again. "Hello?"

"Babe, he assaulted a police officer for you. It must be serious."

He is really aggravating me. I get up to follow Mario's lawyer to a conference room and I whisper into the phone.

"Why are you stalking me, Ranger?"

"I cannot stop thinking about you, Babe. I would have punched Morelli, too."

I look around and I do not see him.

"We have the station wired, Babe." Great.

"I have something to do. I cannot talk to you right now."

"Okay, Babe. I will call you back."

He hangs up again. Inside the conference room, we get the charges for identity theft dropped. Mario's cousin admitted that he filed the charges in anger. As we leave the conference room, Morelli steps forward to arrest Mario.

"You are under arrest for the assault of a police officer."

He moves to put cuffs on Mario when the police chief steps out of his office.

"Morelli, I would not do that if I were you. In fact, based on your conduct earlier, I am putting you on suspension for conduct not becoming an officer. You owe both Miss Plum and Mr. Hubbard formal apologies."

Morelli looks like he wants to yell at someone, but he releases Mario's arm. We stand there and wait for the apologies that he barely manages to get out through clenched teeth and then we leave.

Mario pulls me out of the station and starts dancing around. "Cutie, let's go and get some ice cream." He is so silly acting.

I spot Ranger's car and see him behind the wheel. I sigh. I cannot believe I am doing this.

"Mario, maybe we can get ice cream another time." He smiles and hugs me.

"That's cool. Thanks for listening to my problem instead of trying to call 5-0 on me. You have my number, Cutie. Make sure you holler at me." He catches up with his lawyer and leaves.

I get into my car and drive to my condo knowing that Ranger is following me. I call him this time.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself. Come inside. I want to talk to you."

I hang up on him. I leave my door wide open and sit in the armchair. Ranger comes inside and sits down on the couch. He actually flops down and sulks.

"Babe, why are you not with your boyfriend?"

His voice is low and he won't look at me.

"Ranger, Mario was an FTA. I am not dating him. He agreed to come in with me if I hung out with him today. He likes Chinese food and going to the park."

He sits up a little and finally looks at me.

"You mean you are not together?"

"No, Ranger. I know you have never seen me with him before today, stalker." I smile at him.

"He called you his woman, Babe."

I lean back in my chair. "No, he spoke about his woman. He meant Keysha. He told me all about her and how she had to work today. Otherwise she would have been there. He defended me to Morelli because he hates to see a woman being disrespected. He is just a nice guy, Ranger."

He smiles a little bit. "I have been so jealous of that guy all day, Babe. I sent the chief that video so Morelli could not arrest him. I figured that you would not want your boyfriend to be in jail."

He is a little bit adorable. "Thank you. Ranger, if you wanted to date me, why didn't you just ask me instead of following me around?"

"Babe, I thought about it and I decided that you would not want what I was offering."

"Why not?"

"You are beautiful, smart and funny. I love your smile."

"Thank you, but that does not prove that I would not want you, Ranger."

He takes my hand. "You have proven that you can do your job and you are getting your PI license. You moved from that unsafe apartment to this gated community. You even get training now. It's like you don't need me anymore. I mean, you can have anyone."

He looks a little sad. My poor Army Ranger. "So, does that mean that I can have you? I have been waiting for you to say something or to make a move, Ranger."

He stands up and pulls me to my feet. His arms go around me and he kisses me. I missed this. He kisses my neck and my jaw and back to my lips. He takes my hand and leads me out of my condo. What now?

"Ranger, where are we going?"

He smiles. "I think that you should get to have that ice cream that you turned down earlier." I glare at him.

"Do you have a wire on me somewhere?" He smiles.

"No, Babe. I heard him ask you. Come on."

"Fine, but stop stalking me." He stops and kisses me again.

"I will be with you from now on, Babe. No stalking necessary." I smile and follow him. I cannot believe Ranger is getting me ice cream.


End file.
